One of the things I’m most interested to explore when I’m visiting rural areas is the local produce. Lately I stayed in Orange (in South-Western NSW) and learnt that Orange/Bathurst is Australia’s main hazelnut production region.

So whilst at the near-by Milthorpe Markets, I bought a packet of local raw hazelnuts. While there are many ways you can use hazelnuts in cooking (cakes, cookies, pesto, roasted and tossed through salads, etc), I thought I’d have a go at making a version of a treat from my childhood – Nutella (chocolate hazelnut spread).

I’ve adapted this recipe from one of my favourite blogs: Oh She Glows. (Makes a great consumable xmas pressie for sweet-tooths!)

Makes about 2 cups

ingredients

  • 2 cups raw hazelnuts
  • 1.5 tbsp coconut oil
  • 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup coconut sugar
  • 1.5 Tbsp organic cacao powder
  • 1/2 tsp ground coffee
  • 1/4 tsp sea salt

method

  1. Pre-heat oven to 180 degrees C, then roast the hazelnuts on a baking tray for around 13 minutes or until the skins start to darken and started to come loose.
  2. Dampen a tea-towel and wrap the nuts up in it, then rub them together with your hands which will loosen some of the skins, then place the skinned nuts into a food processor (doesn’t matter if some still have their skins on).
  3. Process the nuts for 10 minutes, stopping every minute or so to scrape the mixture from the sides of the bowl.
  4. Add the rest of the ingredients and process for a further 10-15 minutes, until it’s at the consistency you like – the heat of the processor will smooth out the mixture somewhat. (Traditionally nutella is very smooth, but I prefer it a little courser.)
  5. Store the mixture in sterilized tightly-sealed glass jars in the fridge (it will thicken in the fridge then thin out a little when it’s brought back to room temperature).